


Only one of us is human.

by 9eleanorsometimeswrites9



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Cuddles, Cuddling, F/M, also drunk, angst with happy ending, i was sad when I wrote this, locked in a closet together au, sorry if this makes anyone cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 05:36:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18440123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9eleanorsometimeswrites9/pseuds/9eleanorsometimeswrites9
Summary: Grant and Skye are locked in a heatless room in the middle of Moscow together. Expect the feels.





	Only one of us is human.

Grant was doing good, he swore. He wasn’t even carrying more than two handguns, obviously he wasn’t planning on causing mass destruction. He was in the country legally, his contacts at the Russian embassy accepted his help (despite him being listed as an American terrorist) in taking down one of Russia’s greatest serial killers.

So he found it incredibly irritating that Skye blamed _him_ for what was obviously her mistake. 

Grant’s only request was that they didn’t bring in any American or British intelligence as backup (a request he was sure Putin was fine with). So he didn’t understand why, of all people, the girl he had feelings for was being debriefed right next to him after the execution.

( _She doesn’t even speak Russian!_ )

Skye didn’t seem to care that their shoulders were almost touching. Nor did she seem to be repulsed when everybody else left the room, which was weirding him out. He almost wanted her to be upset with him so he could have an excuse to explain himself. If she was being polite and quiet then he didn’t really have a reason to try to argue why he loved her. He didn’t know what to say.

It was infuriating.

His self pity was interrupted by the deafening sound you would only be able to recognize if you were used to explosions going off.

Grant instinctively grabbed Skye’s arm (It is not his fault for wanting to protect her.) She thrusted it back then yanked him by the collar towards a small armory closet despite his protests.

“Wait these doors don’t have a,” she shut the door, “handle on the inside.”

Skye whipped around, still keeping a hand on his shirt. True enough, they were both inside an eight by six foot room, facing the metal back of the one way door. There was no handle, no way to get out. It was just Grant, Skye, and wall filled with guns. 

“This is all your fault,” She grumbled before finally letting go of his neck.

Grant let out a cough.

“Excuse me?”

She sighed ( _seriously what was going on with her _) before rolling her eyes and sat down against the wall farthest from him. Apparently, the question wasn’t worth answering.__

__“Speak again and I’ll use one of these ARs to kill you.”_ _

__Well, okay then._ _

__They sat in silence, Skye looking at the guns, Grant looking at Skye. He found himself grateful that he could at least look at her._ _

__“Aaaannnnndddd, the power goes out.” Skye dryly narrated as the lights, indeed, seemed to stop working._ _

__She seemed to sense that he was about to speak so she shut him down with another,_ _

__“I’ll kill you, Ward.”_ _

__He wanted to tell her that it was just Grant, now. That he became a mercenary that only killed predators or murderers. That he was trying his best to leave her alone, for her sake._ _

__But he said nothing._ _

__You’re not allowed to plead your case when you betray someone and break their heart. She had made that very clear. Besides, he had other things to worry about. Like how they were in Moscow in January and if they had to be in here overnight with no heating… He assumed she didn’t want him to break the silence to point that out._ _

__Grant desperately wished it was comfortable silence but the way that she wouldn’t even look at him anymore caused his chest to ache. He never knew that he would be able to feel the pain in his heart. He wondered who was hurting more out of the two of them. If she was hurting more, he couldn’t even imagine what her heart felt like._ _

__The night dragged on._ _

__The temperature dropped._ _

__Grant had his hands in his pockets, wrapping his zipped jacket around his knees. He regretted not equipping for the cold weather. _Always be prepared,_ he chided himself. Wait, did Skye have a jacket? He racked his brain, she must’ve had a small fitted leather jacket because May wears one._ _

__“Do you need a jacket?” He hoped that she didn’t actually plan to shoot him._ _

___Again._ _ _

__“No.” Skye sounded less shrill and more shaky._ _

__If she was shivering that was not okay. She cut off his next question with another death threat. He wished that she knew he just wanted to help her be comfortable. They both know he would give her anything he had._ _

__Regardless of that obvious fact, they both sat unmoving in the increasingly freezing dark._ _

__The night dragged on._ _

__The temperature dropped._ _

__Even Grant was shivering at this point so it had to be bad for the girl who had way less body mass than him. He didn’t know whether he wanted to force her to take his jacket or to sit next to her for body warmth._ _

__Is it morbid if he wanted her to let him freeze to death? _I could die for you._ He thought, looking at where he believed Skye was sitting. _You could be safe with my jacket and my clothes and I would happily freeze to death for you.__ _

__He heard moving and for a split second Grant became afraid that she could read his thoughts and was actually going to kill him for it._ _

__“Talk, and I go away.” He heard her voice right next to his ear._ _

__He nodded, then realized there was no way she could see that. Skye led his arms around her waist and shifted them until they were in a position that resembled spooning. Lying to himself, Grant thought that the reason he pulled her tight against him and buried his head in the crook of her neck was to help make her warmer._ _

__There was a certain intimacy about this, at least to him. He could almost feel her neck against his lips, her arms underneath him. He had no idea how she allowed this to happen but this was the best thing to happen to him in months._ _

__“This doesn’t mean I forgive you. I just…” Skye trailed off, “Just don’t speak, never mention this again.”_ _

__She turned towards him and buried her head in his chest. Grant tightened his arms around the back of her neck, tucking her head under his chin. Skye unzipped his jacket and slid her arms underneath it. He felt something wet on her neck._ _

__“Are you crying?” He asked._ _

__She started to pull away but her just held on tight. He knew it was problematic, forcing her to hold him like this. He just knew that she would literally die if she tried to be stubborn._ _

__“Skye.” He pleaded._ _

__Grant heard a sniffle._ _

__“Why did you do it?” She mumbled against his skin._ _

__He swallowed. This was kind of the argument he’d been preparing for two years now._ _

__“What would you be doing right now if Coulson hadn’t picked you up?”_ _

__She didn’t answer._ _

__“I would have been fried in an electric chair,” He continued, “If Garret hadn’t picked me up, I mean.”_ _

__Still no answer._ _

__“He picked me up, left me in the woods for a months with a dog and no supplies. Not even a change of clothes. He taught me how to survive.” He snorted. “Or at least that’s what I thought. Garret was just grooming me. You take a broken kid, you make sure he is forced to revert to his basic human nature. Then you offer him a way out. You tell him that he can be trained to kill and killing will give him a purpose. Killing will give him a family.”_ _

__He hoped Skye was listening as he continued._ _

__“Killing doesn’t seem too bad once you realize it makes someone proud of you for the only time in your life. Because I didn’t know what it was like,” He admitted, “I didn’t know what it was like to not be tortured by someone just for existing. And he’s gone now and a part of me is glad that he’s gone but he was like... He was just my reason for existing. He made me do things I have nightmares about, hell he did things to ME that I have nightmares about. But he pretended to not torture me, and I needed that. I need someone to care.”_ _

__Skye sighed._ _

__“I get that. But he still murdered people. You’re still a murderer. You’re not human.” He couldn’t argue with that._ _

__Grant just held her tighter, let her cry into his chest, and allowed his eyes to shut. He couldn’t heal himself, but neither could she._ _

__Skye couldn’t heal him._ _

__“I agree.” He said finally, “I’m trying to be more. Human, that is. And that’s on me. All of this is on me. And I don’t expect forgiveness. I understand why I need to let you go.”_ _

__“Maybe you don't have to.”_ _

__Skye continued._ _

__“Get therapy, Grant. I know you’re trying to only kill bad people which is good but you just need therapy. I care about you and I know you care about me. But if you want to fix this I need you to be a human.”_ _

__He didn’t know how he got so lucky. He felt… _something_ swell in his chest._ _

__The lights flickered on._ _

__The door opened._ _


End file.
